52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 44
A Tomato, a Banana, and a Whole New World
One of the things I love about genealogy is discovering little details about my ancestors' lives that I never would have imagined. Sometimes it's the big discoveries that surprise us, but other times it's something so simple that it makes us stop and think about just how different life was for those who came before us.
Several years ago, I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of a family history written on December 23, 1976, by Emily Gropp. In it, Emily recalled stories told to her by her mother Emilie Eva (Kater) Gropp, who was born in Lithuania in 1886.
Emilie Eva age 16 in 1902. Photo from Ancestry user and distant cousin, Kay Gropp.
In 1892, six-year-old Emilie immigrated to the United States with her mother, Helene (Helfensteller) Kater, and her siblings. Her father had made the journey two years earlier, and the family was finally coming to join him.
Their journey was not an easy one. The family traveled in steerage, and Helene was seasick throughout the voyage. To make matters worse, young Emilie contracted smallpox and was hospitalized upon their arrival in Baltimore.
It was during her hospitalization that Emilie encountered three things she had apparently never seen before: a tomato, a banana, and a Black person!
Emily recorded her mother's experience this way:
"It was the first time Mom had ever seen a tomato, banana, or a black person. The nurse had to show her how to peel a banana. When she saw the first black child she screamed and hid under the covers. The black child only wanted to play with Mom."
When I first read this, I had to stop and think. A banana and a tomato I could understand, but it had never really occurred to me that someone could grow up without ever having seen a person of another race!
Of course, when I consider where Emilie spent her early childhood and how different the world was in 1892, it makes sense. But it was still something I had never really thought about.
And I can't help but smile at the image of a little girl who had never seen a banana, much less knew what to do with one!
What I find especially touching is that while Emilie was frightened by the unfamiliar appearance of another child, that child simply wanted someone to play with.
I often think about the huge changes my immigrant ancestors experienced when they came to America. A new language, unfamiliar customs, different foods, and an entirely new way of life. But it's these small, personal stories that really bring their experiences to life for me.
Who knew that a tomato, a banana, and a childhood encounter in a Baltimore hospital would provide one of the most surprising little discoveries in my family history?
I'm really glad someone thought to write it down!